The All-Star Race will experiment with a faster, softer secondary tire

April 12, 2017

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Goodyear’s top motorsports executive says the tire manufacturer is capable of meeting the challenge of producing dual compounds for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season -- if that’s what everyone wants.

Director of sales Greg Stucker took to the airwaves on Wednesday to address the feasibility of a full season using both a standard tire and a softer, faster option tire that will essentially be tested next month during the Monster Energy All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"We haven't had any serious discussion outside of the All-Star Race," Stucker said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "But certainly, if the results of this race warrant the conversation extending to the regular season, that's a conversation we're open to."

Looking to spice up the Monster Energy All-Star Race, NASCAR has introduced multiple tire compounds for the annual non-points race held each May at Charlotte Motor Speedway.As in previous seasons, the ...

For the All-Star Race, teams will be provided one four-tire set of the option tires. The green-lettered tires will be anywhere from a third to half a second faster than their standard yellow-lettered counterparts.

All four must be bolted on at once, and if they are saved for the final 10-lap dash, that team must start behind drivers who elect to use the standard tires. This, combined with an elimination format in which only 10 drivers will take the green flag for the shootout, is meant to promote passing and set up a close finish.

But a successful test at Charlotte next month will not necessarily mean the option tire will be ready for regular season use -- at least not yet.

"But again, having said that, there are a lot of different elements you have to explore, like the rules and the logistics," Stucker said of a regular season rollout. "Are there a set amount of options? Will it be open so teams select them?

"What are the goals of the option tires? What do we want to accomplish? I think it’s clear what we want to accomplish for the All-Star Race, but the goal might be different for a full points-paying event."

With the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race featuring two different tire compounds next month at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the annual non-points exhibition event could serve as a preview of things to ...

That said, does Stucker personally believe that dual tire compounds could prove viable for NASCAR's highest level? Yes, but only after a considerable amount of conversation.

"Is it doable? It's absolutely doable," he said. "But there's a lot of things that have to be discussed and ironed out and kind of understood before you go down that road."

Both Formula 1 and IndyCar use multiple tire compounds to create different strategies and increase passing. It works for both tours, but it's important to remember that both primarily race on road and street courses.

In the case of IndyCar, only one tire compound is used for the high-speed ovals.

"I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that we don't want to change it just because it might work on different (series) where they run a lot of road-course races," Stucker said. "Remember that we run a lot of oval tracks, and this isn't done on a lot of oval tracks.

"We don't want to change it just to change it. We want to change it to make things better. If there's some merit to doing it and opens up some strategy play, then by all means, let’s have that discussion and figure out what works and what doesn't."